Marcus Paige is mobbed by his UNC teammates after hitting his game winner at N.C. State

Fit him with a pair of horn-rimmed glasses and an old-school Fedora (the hat, not the coach), and Marcus Paige could pass for an updated version of the mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent.

Good thing for the North Carolina basketball team that the unassuming young point guard also does a pretty good imitation of Kent’s alter-ego Superman.

Instead of stepping out of a phone booth and into a red cape, Paige usually does his changeover at halftime – when he comes flying to the Tar Heels’ rescue in a powder blue blur of scoring heroics.

Twelve times this season, including each of the past three games, he’s been held to four points or less in the first half only to bounce back with a double-figure effort in the second. That includes Wednesday night’s outburst at N.C. State, in which the confident sophomore scored 31 of his career-high 35 points after the intermission to outduel rival T.J. Warren and his Wolfpack.

The final two of those points came on a difficult driving one-hander in the lane that gave UNC an 85-84 overtime victory.

Marcus Paige has added an effective floater to his offensive repritoire this season

Perhaps Paige is just a slow starter. He’s averaging 11.5 points in the second half compared to only 6.0 in the first. Maybe he’s one of those players that saves his best for when his team needs it most.

Either way, his strong second half efforts have been the catalyst for the 10-game winning streak that has transformed the Tar Heels from the most enigmatic team in college basketball into one of the nation’s most dangerous heading into the postseason.

“I just want to play better in the first half to help my team, but it keeps ending up that I get into a rhythm more in the second half,” Paige said. “I figure out what’s going on and I can attack more effectively.”

His latest assault, combined with a performance in which he scored all 13 of his points in the second half of a come-from-behind victory against Duke a week earlier, has thrust Paige smack into the middle of the ACC Player of the Year conversation.

That’s an accomplishment in itself for a player whose ceiling was questioned as recently as this time last year because of a slender build that caused him to get pushed around and worn down by his bigger, stronger counterparts.

Paige addressed his physical shortcomings over the summer by dedicating himself to a strength and conditioning program that helped him add 15 pounds to his 6-foot-1 frame. At 175 pounds, he still looks a little like the smallest kid on the playground.

But the added bulk has made a big difference, especially when combined with the running floater he’s added to his offensive repertoire and the leadership ability he’s no longer shy about asserting.

Marcus Paige flies through the air to steal a pass during Wednesday’s win at N.C. State

“When I was kid growing up, you watched movies of World War II and you’d talk about foxhole buddies. I’ve always felt like I’ve wanted to have some of those guys. Marcus Paige is not going to win many fights. I’d hate to see him in a fight, but by golly, I’d love to have him in my foxhole, because I want tough people. And he’s as tough of a little sucker as I’ve ever seen.”

The most amazing part of the package is that, like Clark Kent, he’s easy to overlook. That is, until he takes off his glasses, bursts out of the locker room at halftime and comes to his team’s rescue by leaping tall opponents in a single bound.